Garment hanger device

ABSTRACT

A clothes hanger support for shipping containers including a horizontally extending U-shaped hanger bar having at each end downwardly projecting tongues which fit over a U-shaped strap formed integrally with brackets at each end of the bar adapted to fit over the shipping container, there being provided interengaging locking projections on the strap and on the tongue.

United States Patent Inventors Joseph A. Maziarka;

Robert J. Maziarka, both of c/o Relling Corp. 1837 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, Ill.

60622 Appl. No. 802,127 Filed Feb. 25, 1969 Patented Oct. 5, 1971 GARMENT HANGER DEVICE 8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

U.S.Cl 211/123, 20617 A, 248/224 Int. Cl A471 5/00, Bd 1 8 Field ofsearch 211/123, 124. 105.1 l05.6,7, 88, 206/7 A; 248/251, 224, 214, 225, 300; 223/85, 87

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,732,954 1/1956 Janonis etal. 211/88 2,867,459 H1959 Brennan 211/123 X 3,197,033 7/1965 Brennan 211/123 3,298,503 1/1967 Field et al..... 211/123 X 3,388,884 6/1968 Eggler et a1 248/224 FOREIGN PATENTS 206,617 8/1966 Sweden 206/7 A Primary Examiner-Ramon S. Britts Attorney-Hofgren, Wegren, Al1en,Stellman & McCord ABSTRACT: A clothes hanger support for shipping containers including a horizontally extending U-shaped hanger bar having at each end downwardly projecting tongues which fit over a U-shaped strap formed integrally with brackets at each end of the bar adapted to fit over the shipping container, there being provided interengaging locking projections on the strap and on the tongue GARMENT HANGER DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Inthe garment industry shipping cases or cartons are provided for shipping garments that are in turn supported on conventional hangers. These cases or cartons generally include a rectangular inner casing having four walls andaclosely fitting outer casing also having four walls, one of the walls of the inner casing being hinged along the length of one of its vertical sides so that it can be swung outwardly like a door to define a doorway providing access to the interior of the case. The overlying wall of the outer casing is similarly hinged but along the opposite side of the doorway so that it will swing like a door outwardly in the opposite direction with the inner door of the inner casing being held in its closed position when the outer door is closed. A hanger bar is provided for suspending the garment hangers and this bar is mounted at the top of the inner casing in slots provided in two opposite walls of the outer casing in such a manner that the hanger bar is supported by both the inner and the outer casings.

It is also conventional for these shipping cases or cartons to include only a single casing rather than the double casing described above. In a similar fashion, however, the hanger bar is mounted at the top of the sidewalls of the casing on brackets, generally of U-shaped configuration which fit over the tops of opposite vertical sidewalls.

The garment hangers generally are disposable items supplied to the garment manufacturer since any rust on the hanger could cause damage to clothes if the hangers were repeatedly used. For this reason, the clothes'hangers are extremely high-volume items. Nevertheless, to date these items have been comparatively expensive mainly because of the multiplicity of sheet-metal-forming steps necessary to construct a bracket of sufficient strength and durability to maintain .the garments in the proper position during the sometimes rugged movement encountered during shipment.

. In the past these hangers have taken the form of U-shaped end brackets which fit over the upper ends of the sides of the garment carton with the hanger bar suspended on the brackets and extending across the interior of the carton to provide a support for the clothes hangers at the upper end of the carton or casing. v

The various manners of attaching the bar to the brackets to provide a rugged rigid connection has in the past contributed greatly to the cost of these items and it is one of the primary objects of the present invention to provide an improved interconnection between the bar and the bracket that permits a simplified construction without the sacrifice of strength or durability.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In accordance with the present invention a garment hanger support is provided that includes a generally channel-shaped hanger bar with downwardly projecting tongues at the ends thereof that are adapted to fit over straps projecting from and integral with U-shaped brackets at the end of the bar. The straps and the tongues have interengaging projections which lock the bar to the brackets. The tongue is positioned so that the downwardly projecting portions of the channel-shaped bar tightly engage the strap providing rigidity between the brackets and the normally horizontally extending bar.

The interengaging projections on the strap and the tongue are preferably of sufficient depth so that a releasable connection is provided between the bar and the brackets.

in this fashion the brackets may be more economically shipped to the garment manufacturer in knockdown fashion separately from the bars and the manufacturer may attach the bar to the brackets simply by snapping the tongues in the slots formed by the straps on the brackets. This results in a significant'shipping cost savings.

Alternatively, the tongue may be permanently fixed to the strap by either a weldment or by driving a form through the tongue flaring a portion thereof through the strap and fixing it thereto. These latter two forms of arrangement, however, are less desirable from an economic standpoint. Moreover, an opening is provided in the brackets on the side thereof opposite the strap which projects from the brackets permitting the brackets to be stacked flush against one another when shipped in knockdown fashion to the consumer.

Other advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a garment carton or box opened with the garment hanger according to the present invention in position;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section of one end of the present hanger assembly;

FIG. 3 is a section of the bracket taken generally along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross section taken generally along line 44 of FIG. 2',

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the end brackets; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective on one end of the hanger bar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1 a garment carton 10 is seen to consist of sidewalls I1 and 12 along with the front and rear walls at 14 and 15. The carton is constructed so that none of the walls, usually front wall 14, may be opened for insertion of the garments even though not shown in sufficient detail in FIG. 1.

For the purpose of supporting garments within the carton 10 a hanger assembly 16 is provided including a horizontally extending hanger bar 18 supported on end brackets l9 and 20 in turn supported on the upper ends of the sidewalls 12 and l 1, respectively.

As seen more clearly in FIGS. 2 to 5, the brackets 19 and 20, which are identical in construction, are each seen to be generally U-shaped members having an upper wall 25 and downwardly depending sidewalls 2 6 and 27 adapted to flank the sides of the carton. As seen clearly in FIGS. 3 and 5 the upper wall 25 has downwardly extending ends 30 and 31, commonly referred to as shear-forms which engage the upper edge of the sidewalls I1 and 12 as shown in FIG. 3 for the purpose of preventing sliding movement of the brackets along the carton sidewalls. The shear-forms or downwardly projecting portions 30, 31 dig somewhat into the cardboard material from which the garment carton 10 is constructed for this purpose.

Projecting from sidewall 27 is a strap 34 integral with the bracket and formed in the wall simply by stamping out a portion thereof. The strap 34 defines a slot 36 for a purpose described hereinafter. Formed centrally in the strap 34 is an opening or recess 38.

The hanger bar 18 is provided for supporting the garment hangers themselves and is suspended between the brackets 19 and 20. As seen best in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6 the bar 18 is seen to be a generally channel-shaped member having an upper wall 41 and spaced downwardly depending sidewalls 43 and 44. Projecting from the ends of the upper wall 41 are projections 46 each having an upper portion 48 coplanar with the wall 41 and a downwardly projecting tongue portion 50.

As may be seen in FIG. 2 the tongue portion 50 is adapted to be received in the recess 36 and it is spaced from ends 52 of the downwardly extending portions 43 and 44 of the bar such that the strap 34 is snugly flanked thereby to provide a rigid assembly. Note from FIG. 2 that the tongue 50 has sufficient length so that it engages both sides of the opening in wall 27 defined by the strap 34 to provide a more rigid construction.

Defined centrally within the projection 50 is an inwardly extending boss 54 that is positioned to engage and fit within recess 38 in the strap locking the parts in the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 with the top of the strap engaging the undersurface of the bar upper wall 41 and ends 52 of the downwardly depending walls 43 and 44 engaging the outwardly facing surface of the strap 34.

with this construction the bars may be shipped if desired in knocked down condition, or unassembled, and fitted to the brackets by the garment manufacturer simply by the insertion of the tongues 50 into the recesses 36 until the projections 34 lock into openings 38.

Alternatively, the tongues 50 may be welded to the straps 34, or the projections 54 may be flared into the openings 38. These latter alternatives provide a permanent connection between the bar and the brackets so that they do not yield the advantages of the knockdown capabilities of the embodiment shown in the drawing.

For the purpose of permitting stacking of the brackets for shipment in knockdown condition, or for the purpose of permitting welding of the brackets to the bar, an opening 60 is provided in the outer wall 26 of the brackets. Opening 60 is larger than the strap 34 so that the strap of one bracket can be fitted within the opening 60 of the adjacent bracket in the shipping carton permitting many more brackets to be shipped in a box of a given size.

We claim:

l. A clothes hanger support forshipping containers, comprising: a generally horizontally extending bar member for supporting clothes, a generally U-shaped bracket member adjacent each end of said bar member adapted to be fitted into the container, tongue means on one of said members extending in a direction transverse to said bar member, slot means on the other of said members adapted to receive said tongue means,.said slot, means being defined'by a struckout portion having an open top and an open bottom, said tongue means having a length sufficient to project from the open bottom, said tongue means having surface portions engaging the surfaces of the other member adjacent both the open top and open bottom of the struckout portion and means holding said tongue means in said slot means in said engaging position.

2. A clothes hanger support as defined in claim 1, wherein said tongue means is releasably received in said slot means, said holding means including a recess in said slot means extending generally parallel to said bar means, and a projection on said tongue means extending in a direction generally parallel to said bar means and adapted to be releasably fitted in said recess.

3. A clothes hanger support as defined in claim 1, wherein said U-shaped bracket members include an upper portion interconnecting downwardly;extending portions, said upper portions having downwardly turned ends to prevent movement of the bracket along the container.

4. A clothes hanger support as defined in claim 1 wherein said slot is defined by a strap member fixed with respect to said bracket and over which said tongue is adapted to be placed.

5. A clothes hanger support as defined in claim 1 wherein said slot is defined by a strap projecting from one side of said brackets, the other side of said brackets having an opening therein aligned with and larger than said strap whereby the brackets may be stacked for shipment.

6. A clothes hanger support for shipping containers, comprising: a generally U-shaped supporting bar having an upper portion and downwardly depending sides, an integral tongue at each end of said bar projecting downwardly from said upper portion, a projection extending from said tongue, a bracket at each end of said bar, said brackets each having a downwardly extending slot therein adapted to receive said tongue, saidslot being defined by an integral strap separated from the bracket, and a recess in said strap positioned to receive said projection and lock the bar to the brackets, the width of said strap being greater than the spacing between the downwardly depending sides of the bar, the tongue being spaced a distance from said downwardly depending sides a distance substantial? equal to the thickness of the strap such that the strap its snugly therebetween.

7. A clothes hanger support for shipping containers, comprising: a generally horizontally extending bar member for supporting clothes, a generally U-shaped bracket member adjacent each end of said bar member adapted to be fitted into the container, tongue means on each end of said bar member extending in a direction transverse to said bar member, slot means on each of said bracket members adapted to receive said tongue means, and locking means to lock said tongue means in said slot means, each of said slot means being defined by a strap member fixed with respect to said bracket and over which one of said tongues is adapted to be placed, said strap member being spaced outwardly of said bracket with portions along its side edges connecting it to the said bracket and being open along its entire upper and lower edges, said strap having a transverse width greater than that of said bar, said bar being generally U-shaped and having an upper portion and downwardly projecting side portions, said tongue projecting from said upper portion and being spaced a distance from the ends of the downwardly projecting portions a distance substantially equal to the thickness of said strap so as to receive said strap and to force the ends of said downwardly extending portions into engagement with said strap, and said tongue having an axial dimension sufficiently great to project from the lower edge of the strap when the elements are assembled.

8. A clothes hanger support for shipping containers, comprising: a generally horizontally extending bar member for supporting clothes, a generally U-shaped bracket member adjacent each end of said bar member adapted to be fitted into the container, tongue means on one of said members extending in a direction transverse to said bar member, slot means on the other of said members adapted to receive said tongue means, said slot means being defined by an integral strap on said other member, said bar member being channel shaped and having leg portions spaced apart a lesser distance than the width of the strap with said tongue means being spaced from said end surfaces a distance substantially equal to the thickness of said strap, said leg portions having end surfaces engaging said strap, and means to hold said tongue means in said slot means. 

1. A clothes hanger support for shipping containers, comprising: a generally horizontally extending bar member for supporting clothes, a generally U-shaped bracket member adjacent each end of said bar member adapted to be fitted into the container, tongue means on one of said members extending in a direction transverse to said bar member, slot means on the other of said members adapted to receive said tongue means, said slot means being defined by a struckout portion having an open top and an open bottom, said tongue means having a length sufficient to project from the open bottom, said tongue means having surface portions engaging the surfaces of the other member adjacent both the open top and open bottom of the struckout portion and means holding said tongue means in said slot means in said engaging position.
 2. A clothes hanger support as defined in claim 1, wherein said tongue means is releasably received in said slot means, said holding means including a recess in said slot means extending generally parallel to said bar means, and a projection on said tongue means extending in a direction generally parallel to said bar means and adapted to be releasably fitted in said recess.
 3. A clothes hanger support as defined in claim 1, wherein said U-shaped bracket members include an upper portion interconnecting downwardly extending portions, said upper portions having downwardly turned ends to prevent movement of the bracket along the container.
 4. A clothes hanger support as defined in claim 1 wherein said slot is defined by a strap member fixed with respect to said bracket and over which said tongue is adapted to be placed.
 5. A clothes hanger support as defined in claim 1 wherein said slot is defined by a strap projecting from one side of said brackets, the other side of said brackets having an Opening therein aligned with and larger than said strap whereby the brackets may be stacked for shipment.
 6. A clothes hanger support for shipping containers, comprising: a generally U-shaped supporting bar having an upper portion and downwardly depending sides, an integral tongue at each end of said bar projecting downwardly from said upper portion, a projection extending from said tongue, a bracket at each end of said bar, said brackets each having a downwardly extending slot therein adapted to receive said tongue, said slot being defined by an integral strap separated from the bracket, and a recess in said strap positioned to receive said projection and lock the bar to the brackets, the width of said strap being greater than the spacing between the downwardly depending sides of the bar, the tongue being spaced a distance from said downwardly depending sides a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the strap such that the strap fits snugly therebetween.
 7. A clothes hanger support for shipping containers, comprising: a generally horizontally extending bar member for supporting clothes, a generally U-shaped bracket member adjacent each end of said bar member adapted to be fitted into the container, tongue means on each end of said bar member extending in a direction transverse to said bar member, slot means on each of said bracket members adapted to receive said tongue means, and locking means to lock said tongue means in said slot means, each of said slot means being defined by a strap member fixed with respect to said bracket and over which one of said tongues is adapted to be placed, said strap member being spaced outwardly of said bracket with portions along its side edges connecting it to the said bracket and being open along its entire upper and lower edges, said strap having a transverse width greater than that of said bar, said bar being generally U-shaped and having an upper portion and downwardly projecting side portions, said tongue projecting from said upper portion and being spaced a distance from the ends of the downwardly projecting portions a distance substantially equal to the thickness of said strap so as to receive said strap and to force the ends of said downwardly extending portions into engagement with said strap, and said tongue having an axial dimension sufficiently great to project from the lower edge of the strap when the elements are assembled.
 8. A clothes hanger support for shipping containers, comprising: a generally horizontally extending bar member for supporting clothes, a generally U-shaped bracket member adjacent each end of said bar member adapted to be fitted into the container, tongue means on one of said members extending in a direction transverse to said bar member, slot means on the other of said members adapted to receive said tongue means, said slot means being defined by an integral strap on said other member, said bar member being channel shaped and having leg portions spaced apart a lesser distance than the width of the strap with said tongue means being spaced from said end surfaces a distance substantially equal to the thickness of said strap, said leg portions having end surfaces engaging said strap, and means to hold said tongue means in said slot means. 